WEBVTT DURING THE 2016 ELECTION. 11 NEWS I-TEAM REPORTER LISA ROBINSON HAS THE STORY. >> WE HAVEN’T SEEN DIRECT CYBER SECURITY RELATED HACKING ATTEMPTS AGAINST STATE AND LOCAL ELECTION INFRASTRUCTURE LIKE WE SAW IN 2016 -- IN 2016. LISA DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND : SECURITY UNDERSECRETARY CHRIS KREBS IS TRAVELING AROUND THE COUNTRY OBSERVING ELECTION SYSTEMS. HE SAYS MARYLAND’S EQUIPMENT IS TOP SHELF. >> BECAUSE OF THE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY, I CAN ASSURE VOTERS IN MARYLAND WE HAVE SECURE AND RESILIENT VOTING STRUCTURE. LISA SOME OF THE SECURITY : MEASURES USED HERE IN MARYLAND INCLUDE, THE CERTIFIED VOTING SYSTEM IS NEVER CONNECTED TO THE INTERNET, SO RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INTERNET ARE NOT THERE. THE STATE USES THUMB DRIVES TO TRANSFER ELECTION RESULTS SO EXTRA MEASURES MUST BE TAKEN TO SECURE THOSE DEVICES. EACH WEEK, THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SCANS THE STATE’S WEBSITES LOOKING FOR VULNERABILITIES. AND THEY PROVIDE TEST PHISHING EMAILS TO ELECTION OFFICES. >> IT IS A WAY THAT AN ADVERSARY TRIES TO TRICK A USER, AN ADMINISTRATOR INTO CLICKING ONTO A LINK AND GETTING ACCESS TO THE BAD GUYS TO THE SYSTEM AND THAT IS WHAT WE SAW IN 2016 WAS THE RUSSIAN ACT

Federal and Maryland officials addressed election security Tuesday in Annapolis.Chris Krebs, undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security's National Protection and Programs Directorate, traveled to Maryland during the state's primary day to meet with state and local officials and discuss the ongoing work to secure Maryland's election infrastructure.For more than a year, DHS has been working in support of state and local election officials around the country, offering free technical services and expertise, improving information sharing and assisting them in incident response planning.Krebs is traveling around the country to observe election systems. He said Maryland's equipment is top shelf. "We have not seen direct cybersecurity-related hacking attempts against state and local election infrastructure, like we saw in 2016," Krebs said. Some of the security measures used in Maryland include never connecting the certified voting system to the internet, so risks associated with the internet are nonexistent. The state uses thumb drives to transfer election results so extra measures must be taken to secure those devices. "Because of our partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, I can assure our voters in Maryland that we have secure and resilient voting structure in Maryland," Maryland Board of Elections Administrator Linda Lamone said. Each week, the Department of Homeland Security scans the state's websites looking for vulnerabilities, and they provide test phishing emails to election offices. "Phishing is basically a way an adversary tries to trick an administrator into clicking onto a link and giving access to bad guys to the system, and that's what we saw in 2016, the Russian actors use phishing and other techniques to try to gain access to the systems," Krebs said.Also on WBALTV.com:

Chris Krebs, undersecretary for the Department of Homeland Security's National Protection and Programs Directorate, traveled to Maryland during the state's primary day to meet with state and local officials and discuss the ongoing work to secure Maryland's election infrastructure.

For more than a year, DHS has been working in support of state and local election officials around the country, offering free technical services and expertise, improving information sharing and assisting them in incident response planning.

Krebs is traveling around the country to observe election systems. He said Maryland's equipment is top shelf.

"We have not seen direct cybersecurity-related hacking attempts against state and local election infrastructure, like we saw in 2016," Krebs said.

Some of the security measures used in Maryland include never connecting the certified voting system to the internet, so risks associated with the internet are nonexistent. The state uses thumb drives to transfer election results so extra measures must be taken to secure those devices.

"Because of our partnership with the Department of Homeland Security, I can assure our voters in Maryland that we have secure and resilient voting structure in Maryland," Maryland Board of Elections Administrator Linda Lamone said.

Each week, the Department of Homeland Security scans the state's websites looking for vulnerabilities, and they provide test phishing emails to election offices.

"Phishing is basically a way an adversary tries to trick an administrator into clicking onto a link and giving access to bad guys to the system, and that's what we saw in 2016, the Russian actors use phishing and other techniques to try to gain access to the systems," Krebs said.